In the Park
by wililamherondale
Summary: "Alec," Magnus started, his voice thoughtful, dragging Alec back down to Earth in an instant, "Have you ever thought about having kids?" Alarm shot through him, causing Alec to stop abruptly on the path and stare at Magnus in shock. Where on Earth had that come from? Did Magnus really want to move on so quickly? – they'd only been together a few months. [little bit o' Malec fluff]


The leaves tangled themselves together, dipping and twirling in a private dance that fascinated the rest. Rubies and golds knitted a perfect autumn scene, delicately embracing the trees and teasing the grass; Alec couldn't think of a better moment.

Muddy brown painted their pathway and cold nipped the air, but neither of them minded, as they were both wearing solid shoes and warm coats. More than that – they had each other.

Times had been difficult up until that point; Jace and Clary had had a fight that had led to days of silence in the Institute and a permanently foul-mouthed and pissed off Jace. Even Church had suspected something was up, and appeared to avoid Jace in the corridors and look the other way when he was angry. Alec had always suspecting that cat had a sixth sense - whenever Magnus was nearby, Church would go and sit in front of the lift, waiting and watching. This was useful for Alec, as it gave him a few minutes warning on when Magnus arrived, giving him time to stash whatever he was doing at the moment and shoo the rest of his family out of the way.

"Alec," Magnus started, his voice thoughtful, dragging Alec back down to Earth in an instant, "Have you ever thought about having kids?"

Alarm shot through him, causing Alec to stop abruptly on the path and stare at Magnus in shock. Where on Earth had that come from? Did Magnus really want to move on so quickly? – they'd only been together a few months.

"Oh- no, Alec-" Seeing the panic in Alec's eyes, Magnus quickly tried to calm him down, "I-I didn't mean us. I just- I meant in general. Like, when you were younger, did you see your future self wanting kids?"

Taking a deep breath, Alec tried to brush over it and pretend it never happened, but the look in Magnus' eye told him otherwise. This topic would definitely be revisited.

"I guess I did at some point," He decided to be careful, as sometimes Magnus would react in ways Alec never thought he would. "But I never thought too far into it, to be honest."

The pause that followed was waiting; waiting for the Warlock's response.

"Magnus?" Alec prompted, as the cat-like eyes scanned the horizon, appearing to be lost in thought, "And- and you?"

"Never."

Blinking, Alec tried to regain his thoughts, but Magnus chose that moment to meet Alec's eyes and give him a piercing stare, still curious, eyes watching Alec's reaction before he had a chance to correct himself.

The word hadn't been said in a bitter tone, but it wasn't anywhere near happy either. Usually, Alec could decipher what Magnus meant by his body language, but the air was chilly, so they were both in comfortable coats and snuggly scarfs, so his general body language was hostile, whilst it may have just been the cold.

Deciding not to push it, Alec stepped a little closer to Magnus and linked his arm through his, a little hesitantly. As he did so, Magnus appeared to visibly relax, and he turned to smile at Alec, his eyes apologetic.

"Sorry, I just-" He exhaled loudly, for once not quite knowing what to say, "I just don't want any child to grow up the way I did."

"Would they be a warlock?" Alec wondered aloud, trying to think back to his lessons in Idris, "Unless it was with a Shadowhunter, right?"

"Yes, the Shadowhunter blood would always be dominant," Magnus bit his lip, "But the child would still have warlock abilities."

"Ah," Alec realised it all in a split second; the immortality and the loneliness – that's what Magnus didn't want for the child. "Well, how about adoption?"

Magus merely snorted.

"You don't think that they wouldn't question why Daddy never got older? Nah, save yourself the hassle."

So they continued along the path until they reached the road; the outskirts of the park.

Magnus' gentle fingers traced Alec's Shadowhunter runes, moving from his hand, up his arm and finally up to his neck, his eye not meeting Alec's the entire time. However, this was fine by Alec, who rarely got a chance just to watch Magnus as he went about daily tasks, as Magnus was always watching him first, or Alec had something else he had to be doing.

"Alec, I'm sorry if you wanted kids." Magnus said, softly, so quietly that Alec barely heard him, "But I'm not going to back down on my opinion."

He shot Alec a quick grin.

"You know that better than most."

Alec had nothing to say in response, except to lean up and kiss his boyfriend on the mouth, telling him without words that everything was okay.

And for a while, a very short while, everything was.


End file.
